Wednesday, 18 May 2011

Beetroot soup

I had a really nice beetroot and chocolate cake at the weekend (will put up a blog on a recipe soon) and it got me back in a beetroot mood! I love beetroot- slow baked and served with onions and sliced cooked potato (with a dash of cream) it's a great side dish.

I have a bunch of beetroots that I've been trying to decide what to do with and decided to make beetroot soup for lunch today. Just look at that colour!

Start by washing the beetroots carefully (be careful not to tear the skin) and placing the untrimmed beetroots in pieces of foil, top with seasoning and butter and wrap each in a parcel. Place in an ovenproof dish and cook for a couple of hours in a 180 degree oven.

While the beetroots are cooking make your vegetable stock (unless you already have some to hand). Fill a small saucepan three quarters full of water (just over a litre) and add your vegetables of choice- I used some leek, celery, carrots, onion, potatoes as well as a bouquet garni and some peppecorns.

Boil or an hour and then sieve to get the vegetable stock.

Once the beetroots are cooked, chop up two onions.

Fry in some butter in a pan. Cover with some baking paper and lower the heat and allow to cook gently this way for about 10 minutes.

After the 10 minutes remove the paper lid and add the chopped beetroots, stock and a cup of milk.

Puree to a smooth consistency and then season to taste.

You don't need to add any potatoes to this recipe since the beetroots will thicken the soup on their own.

Serve as it is or with a swirl of creme fraiche. A really tasty soup (and the colour I think is just fabulous!)